Ed Sheeran has emerged victorious once again in his copyright case Thinking Out Loud. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Sheeran's hit song does not infringe the copyright of Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye, citing that the songs share only “fundamental musical elements,” according to Billboard.
The original case, filed by Structured Asset Sales, a company that owns a small stake in Gaye's song, alleged that Sheeran copied a chord progression and rhythm from the 1973 song.
«We are pleased that the second instance agreed with Judge Stanton that Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge did not steal any items of Let's Get It On while they created Thinking Out LoudSheeran's lawyer Donald Zakarian told Rolling Stone.
The appeals court said the suit sought to “obtain a monopoly on a combination of two fundamental musical elements” and that “neither the melody nor the lyrics” bore “any resemblance” to Gaye's song.
“The four-chord progression at issue, ubiquitous in popular music, even paired with a syncopated harmonic rhythm, is too well explored to meet the threshold for originality required by copyright law,” a panel of appeals court judges wrote . “Excessive protection of these basic elements would threaten to stifle creativity and undermine the purpose of copyright law.”
The new ruling comes about a year after Sheeran was found not liable for copying the song following a lawsuit brought by Ed Townsend's estate. (Townsend co-wrote the song with Gaye.) At the time, Sheeran said he was happy with the outcome but was incredibly frustrated that unfounded claims like these could make it to court.
